It would be unrealistic to expect that such a huge industry with so much money flowing through "its' veins" would fail to attract scam artists and predatory lenders.
First of all, let's define predatory lender. Simply stated, it's an individual or an institution that seeks out people who are either desperate, naive, or both. Then they capitalize on your urgency, promising a great deal, painting this splendid picture of how this deal will evolve, and then later when you realize that they have misled or lied to you, their defense is that "you didn't read the fine print".
It is therefore useful to remember at every step of your journey in identifying and securing the right type of mortgage for you, that there are more than enough bad lenders in this market and even the genuine ones do not always have your best interests at heart. This is one of the reasons why it is a huge mistake to trust somebody else, least off all a lender, to keep your best interests at heart when doing a mortgage finance deal.

Just remember that the only person who can look out for your interests in the deal is you.
The best place to start protecting yourself from predatory lenders is by sticking to reputable lenders that have been referred to you by a reputable web site that you can trust. The more you check on the reputation, the more comfortable or uncomfortable you will become. And while you are doing your due diligence, do not get caught up in the "but he seems like a nice person" drama!
It is also useful to note that home equity loans are a big favorite with predatory lenders and scam promoters who use them to rob the unsuspecting of their hard earned cash. You must know what to look out for in this case.

Deceptive lending, where the lender provides you with inaccurate information and generally uses every trick in the book to confuse you into paying more than you actually owe, is one strategy used by predatory lenders handling home equity loans. The idea is to make it virtually impossible for you to determine the exact state of affairs on your loan account.
Don't be dismayed and assume that everyone is bad and out to separate you from your money. Just be vigilant and pay attention because while most of the lenders are sincere, there are some that have earned the title of predator!.